Writing Rome
Subtitle: textual approaches to the city
By: Catharine Edwards.
Series: Roman literature and its contexts
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 146
Subjects: Latin literature -- History and criticism.; Literature, Modern -- Roman influences.; City and town life in literature.; Cities and towns in literature.; Literature and society -- Rome.; Rome (Italy) -- In literature.; Rome -- In literature.
Description: The city of Rome is built not only of bricks and marble but also of the words of its writers. For the ancient inhabitant or visitor, the buildings of Rome, the public spaces of the city, were crowded with meanings and associations. These meanings were generated partly through activities associated with particular places, but Rome also took on meanings from literature written about the city: stories of its foundation, praise of its splendid buildings, laments composed by those obliged to leave it.

Ancient writers made use of the city to explore the complexities of Roman history, power and identity. This book aims to chart selected aspects of Rome's resonance in literature and the literary resonance of Rome. A wide range of texts are explored, from later periods as well as from antiquity, since, as the author hopes to show, Gibbon, Goethe, and others can be revealing guides for the literary topography of ancient Rome.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.